The Leaves Rustled Sadly (Листья шумели уныло) - Isser Bushkin (bass) - Mussorgsky скачать в хорошем качестве

The Leaves Rustled Sadly (Листья шумели уныло) - Isser Bushkin (bass) - Mussorgsky

The Leaves Rustled Sadly performed by bass singer Isser Bushkin from an unknown recording. "Листья шумели уныло" в исполнении баса, оперного певца Иссера Бушкина (запись неизвестна). ---- Isser Bushkin (Иссер Бушкин) was born on May 4th, 1928 in Riga, Latvia. His childhood was spent learning music from his grandfather, Yudel (“Yehuda”) Pisetzky, who played second violin in Richard Strauss’ orchestra. Once World War II began, Isser and his mother, along with his younger brother, fled to Cheboksary (Chuvashia Republic) in the USSR, where they would spend the remainder of the war. Isser worked at a military factory during the war, and though only a teenager, was the sole breadwinner for his family. His older brother Shmuel and father Nisen were captured in Riga’s ghetto by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp, but managed to survive, though Isser lost most of his extended family, who all perished during Latvia’s occupation in the war. After the war, Isser left Cheboksary and began his studies at the Conservatory of Riga, becoming an operatic bass. For the next forty years, he would travel, perform, and record with numerous artists, including composers Dmitri Shostakovitch and Leonard Bernstein, conductors Herbert von Karajan and James Levine, opera singers Richard Tucker, Placido Domingo, Robert Merrill, Umberto Giordano, Sherrill Milnes, Teresa Kubiak, Renata Scotto, and others. In 1964, Isser won second place at the Soviet Union Vocalists Contests in the name of M. P. Mussorgsky held in Moscow. He was denied first place (unofficially) by the judging panel because of his Jewish heritage. In a display of contempt for the decision, the first-place winner, another operatic bass, expressed his assertion after the competition that it was Isser who should have won. Of the numerous operas and songs that Isser recorded, there are almost none are left in existence, due to the fact that Isser and his family left the USSR for Israel in April 1972. This prompted the authorities to both play his recordings uncredited as well as destroy many of the existing records and tapes later on (this was the common fate of the works of so-called “traitor” artists’ who decided to leave the USSR). Isser and his family settled briefly in Israel, where in 1973 he was awarded the Israeli State Medal for his performance in the 25th anniversary of the founding of Israel. However, he only remained in Israel for a short time, and, following advice of his manager, moved to Berlin (then West Berlin) in 1973, where he lived until his passing in 2021. From his post-Soviet career there still exist some recordings, the most notable being: 1. Shostakovitch Symphony No. 14, recorded with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic and soprano Teresa Kubiak in 1976. 2. Andrea Chenier, recorded with James Levin and the National Philharmonic Orchestra with tenor Placido Domingo, soprano Renata Scotto, and baritone Sherrill Milnes. Due to the lack of recordings available, the recordings in this current playlist are taken from a collection of unknown origins. The sound quality has unfortunately suffered (i.e., the music was digitally transferred from some damaged cassette tapes). Nonetheless, his talent, beautiful timbre, and powerful voice still shine through. Enjoy.